Welcome to Mock Trial, one of the twenty-seven clubs SJCP offers. For those who are unaware, Mock Trial is a competitive club in which a fake court case is debated by 12 students. Six students pose as attorneys and another six students pose as witnesses in a trial. The team is broken up into two groups: defense and prosecution. Saint John’s defense plays out the case with another school’s prosecution and vice versa. Attorneys fabricate an entire case based on affidavits, evidence, and courtroom procedure. Witnesses memorize affidavits, learn to think on their feet, and play into the facade of their character.
Since it is a competitive club, joining a mock trial requires a more “serious” commitment, but that does not stop the team from enjoying it. Practices are a team effort; everyone is supportive, even when giving constructive criticism. However, Mock Trial is not only about teamwork. It also helps many other areas of work. Members grow in their work ethic, writing, and of course debating. Mock Trial is an amazing way to meet others with similar interests and make friends with people from all different grades.
Sabrina Browning and Jack Green, are the lead attorneys for the 2021-2022 school year. Both Browning and Green agreed that Mock Trial is an excellent way to meet new people and grow socially. Jack specified: “The best experiences I’ve had is being able to make friends and forming connections. Especially as a freshman, that was a cool experience. I knew people in every grade.” Sabrina expressed gratitude when recounting her favorite memory, “Freshman year when we won our last trial. That’s when my real passion for Mock Trial truly started.”
The Mock Trial team has some historic wins under their belt: Saint Johns is the only Frederick County team to win against Montgomery County, a victory that came on their way to the championships. In the 2019-2020 school year SJCP was not only first in their bracket, but remained undefeated. Mr. Krajewski, the club moderator, voiced his opinion when describing the previous years, “It’s more than a team, it’s more than a club, it’s a tradition. I’ve been here 11 years before everybody took pride in it, it was a chore. Since 2015 it’s just like a baton! It gets passed from student to student, each doing their own thing.”
The Viking Journal 